Page 50 of Savage Suit

Fuck, I don’t have time for this debate. Buy one of each for her. Just fucking handle it.

I shoved my phone back into its place, then looked at Ryan, who wore a look of serene patience.

“I haven’t gone into detail about the jobs. One is as pressing as the other. January 9thwill be twenty years since my mother’s death, and I have been planning a limited-release perfume in her honor. Issues have arisen and we are going back to the drawing board. I no longer have a name for the fragrance, packaging, a logo. Nothing. I don’t care about the manpower or the cost, it must be done now, and I need a project manager. It is a short-term position and the House of Amage will be heavily involved. The other position is a long-term account manager. You would work on other campaigns, but your focus would be Amage and their fragrances. We were all but guaranteed the contract for their next pillar. Now, we’re fighting to win it. I need someone who’s tough and dedicated; and most of all, loyal.”

“What happens if you lose that account?”

“Nothing, except pigs will fucking fly.”

She looked at me a moment before she laughed. Her amusement drew chuckles from me.

“In other words, it won’t jeopardize the future of KMG.” She giggled. “It’ll just damage your ego.”

Fuck…Ryan’slaugh. “That’s one way to put it.” Not a hint of turmoil rang in my voice. Fighting memories of the ball, I leaned forward and rested my elbows on my knees. “Of course, the bottom line is important, Ryan. I won’t lie and tell you losing the Amage account won’t affect it. What I’m saying is, KMG isn’t dependent on that one account.”

“If KMG loses the account, then that means the new hire will not be needed if Amage is that person’s key client. Is that correct?”

I looked at her, but she took a play from my book and held up her hand.

“KMG is an entire division of the larger corporation, and you aren’t reliant upon Amage to keep KMG going, so there are other accounts and other managers and teams. I’m wondering why you didn’t hand off that crucial account to someone in-house. Job security is important to me.”

Leaning back, I rested my ankle on my knee. “My account managers have been in place for years. Many of them have contributed to previous Amage campaigns. The brothers are aware of our talent and still decided to look elsewhere. If it is a matter of money, we could’ve adjusted our budget to suit them. I feel the only way to compete is to bring in fresh talent.”

She nodded, her avid interest pleasing me.

“I never thought what would happen to my new hire if we didn’t win the Amage account because it never crossed my mind that we’d lose the contract once we made our presentation.”

She rolled her eyes and laughed again.

“But,” I began with mock severity, “if that anomaly happens and we aren’t awarded the contract, then…” It would be the perfect excuse to get her away from this environment and the ideal time to ask her out.

“Then?” she pressed.

“We’d review your work and go from there.”

Her sudden disappointment left an unpleasant taste in my mouth. If I hired her, she’d have me a basket case in no time. Worrying about her health. Wondering about her identity. Wanting to always see a smile on her face.

“What are you thinking?”

Because clearly, by her distant look, something was on her mind. Guilt dropped into her features, and she glanced away.

“Nothing,” she lied.

“Ryan,” I demanded, “look at me.”

Huffing, she turned to me and lifted her chin.

“I demand complete honesty. In all areas. What were you thinking?”

“Oh my God, you’re such a control freak,” she complained. “Most people at least offer a penny for someone’s thoughts. You demand to know them.”

“My mistake. A thousand dollars for your thoughts.”

Her mouth fell open, and she blinked at me.

Ignoring how badly I wanted to go to her and slide my cock between her luscious lips, I adjusted my body to pull out my billfold. After removing ten Benjamins, I placed them on the table and returned my billfold to my back pocket.

She glanced at the money.